Hometown decision continues tradition

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Petty Officer Colin Frampton with his grandparents, Eva and George Brain, in Ararat yesterday.Picture:Robin Sharrock

Petty Officer Colin Frampton, of HMAS Melbourne, first requested leave on Anzac Day almost six months ago, when he was sent to Iraq.

He returned from the Gulf, where he had been inspecting suspect ships, only on Friday, and went straight to his hometown of Ararat to continue a 30-year-old tradition.

Yesterday he marched on Anzac Day with his grandparents, George and Eva Brain, who raised him since he was three weeks old.

The Ararat march may not have had the stature of the big parade through Melbourne, but in the town it is one of the biggest days of the year.

"If I am in the country I will always make it here if I physically can," Petty Officer Frampton said.

Mr Brain has a yellowed copy of a newspaper article that shows Petty Officer Frampton's first march, in Geelong, when he was just three years old.

George and Eva Brain both did their bit in World War II. Mr Brain joined the army and fought in New Guinea and the Pacific, and his wife became part of the Land Army, the group of women called on to continue food production while the men were fighting.

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Mr Brain, 81, said for him marching was mostly about remembering his mates.

"There is also pride," he said. "Pride in a job well done."

For Petty Officer Frampton, who joined the navy with his twin brother, David, when they were 16, the march gives him a sense of tradition. His brother now lives in Sydney and is still part of the armed forces.

For Ararat, with only 11,700 people, the dawn service and march also brings the small community together.

The local police direct traffic away from the event, SES officers are there to help the ill, the local schools contribute floral wreaths, musicians donate their time and others help set up the chairs and road signs.

"Everyone contributes in some way, and that is what makes it so successful," said Ararat's RSL branch president, Frank Neulist.

Local chef Darren Turner and other volunteers arrive at the RSL before 5am to help prepare about 140 breakfasts for those who have been to the service.

People braved icy temperatures for the dawn service, but this year's Anzac Day was almost balmy compared with a few years ago, when it was a bracing minus 6 degrees.